Inside the Vault: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

During the 1858 US Senate race, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas held seven debates from August through October. Despite losing the election to Douglas, Lincoln rose from local Illinois politician to national prominence. In 1859, he was invited to give campaign speeches in five different northern states. Why did the Lincoln-Douglas debates capture national attention? Were debates in the mid-nineteenth century different from today’s?

View slides from the presentation here.

FEATURED DOCUMENTS

• Daguerreotype of Nicolay with staff of Pittsfield, Ill. "Free Press" [Framed], ca. 1854–1856
• Cabinet Card of Abraham Lincoln, ca. 1858
• A Photograph of Lincoln and His Secretaries in 1863 
• Abraham Lincoln to Samuel Galloway, December 19, 1859
• Political Debates between the Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, 1860